Nitrocellulose coating compositions



United States Patent John D. Brandner and Robert H. Hunter, DeL, assignors to Atlas Powder Company, Del., a corporation of Delaware Wilmington, Wilmington,

No Drawing. Application September 18, 1950, Serial No. 185,510

1 Claim. (Cl. 106173) This invention relates to coating compositions and more particularly to coating compositions containing plasticized nitrocellulose.

It is an object of the invention to provide novel plasticized compositions of nitrocellulose useful in a wide variety of protective, decorative and adhesive coatings.

A further object is to provide plasticized compositions of nitrocellulose compounded with various synthetic and natural resins for coatings.

The above and other objeets will become apparent in the course of the following description and the appended claim.

Compositions fulfilling the above objects comprise nitrocellulose and plasticizers not heretofore disclQSed for use in conjunction with nitrooellulose. Also comprehended are compositions containing, in addition to the nitrocellulose and novel plasticizers, synthetic resins, natural resins and gums, pigments, auxiliary plasticizers to modify the properties of the coatings in manner well-known to the art. Also included within the purview of the invention are solutions of the coating compositions in solvents to form lacquers, cloth coating dopes, and the like.

The nitrocellulose component of the compositions of the present invention may be any of the so-called soluble grades and types of commerce. The soluble nitrocelluloses range in nitrogen content from about 10.7% to about 12.2% and in viscosity from less than A second to upwards of several hundred seconds. The selection of an appropriate nitrocellulose for a particular composition will be governed, as is understood by those skilled in the art, by considerations of the purpose of the coating, the method of application intended, the solvent composition tobe employed, and the like.

Plasticizers of the novel compositions comprise phenoxyethyl and phenoxypropyl esters of lauric acid, oleic acid, and tall oil; and may be represented generically by the formula O-QmH QB wherein n is a whole number from 2 to 3 and R represents the acyl radical of an acid selected from the group consisting of lauric acid, oleic acid and tall oil. These compounds may be prepared by the direct esterification of phenoxyethanol with the appropriate acid as taught in our copending applications Ser. No. 182,122, now Patent Number 2,687,970, and 182,124, both filed August 29, 1950. It will be readily appreciated that the plasticizers need not be chemically pure compounds but may comprise the esters of commercial grades of acids, and of acid mixtures obtained by hydrolysis of naturally occurring glycerides in which the named acids predominate.

The proportion of cellulose nitrate to plasticizer in the compositions of the invention may vary depending upon the presence or absence of added resins and upon the properties desired in the coating or finished composition. Compositions containing as little as 0.1 part plasticizer and as much as Z or even more parts of plasticizer per 2,729,571 Patented Jan. 3, 1956 part of nitrocellulose may be employed to give useful compositions although it is preferred to employ from 0.25 to 1.0 part plasticizer per part of nitrocellulose.

The wide range of modifying components which may be employed in coating compositions containing nitrocellulose and the novel plasticizers for nitrocellulose herein disclosed is illustrated in the examples which follow. Nitrocellulose coatings are almost universally applied from solution and the formulas of the: examples include solvents to produce compositions suitable for application to the product to be coated. Equally within the scope of our invention are the coatings resulting from the evaporation of the solvents after application. The examples presented are illustrative only and the invention is not to be construed as limited to the particular compositions of the examples. In the examples all parts are by weight unl ss o h s indi a Example I A composition suitable for coating metal foils and for use as a heat sensitive adhesive comprises the following:

12 parts nitrocellulose RS, 5 to 6 seconds viscosity 6 parts phenoxyethyl tall oil ester 40 parts xylol 6 parts ethyl alcohol 12 parts butyl alcohol 24 parts butyl acetate This lacquer produces a film of good flexibility and excellent adhesion. It may be used for laminating foil to wax paper and the like by virtue of its heat sensitive character.

Example 11 A composition suitable either as a clear coating for fabrics or as a base to ;be pigmented for coating fabrics to form artificial leather is the following:

Example 111 The plasticizers of the present invention are excellent grinding media for pigments and may be used to form pastes suitable for the cloth dope of Example 11 coloring or other lacquers. Such a paste may comprise:

70 parts chrome yellow 30 parts phenoxyethyl tall oil ester Example IV A finish suitable as a protective and decorative coating for leather is the following:

10 parts nitrocellulose RS, seconds viscosity 15 parts blown castor oil 10 parts phenoxyethyl oleate 30 parts toluol 15 parts ethyl alcohol 20 parts ethyl acetate A colored coating employing the same base may be prepared by adding 2 pounds of the product of Example III per gallon of the above.

following: I

tures.

; 'A wo'od lacquer of xnmple V V lacquer emulsion in which the nitrocellulose is plasticized in accordanc with the present invention is the Lacquer phase v 2 part3 nitrocellulose RS, 4 second viscosity i '0 art". henoxyethyl tall oil ester 2 arts polyoxyethyene sorbitan monolaurate 'lfi'parts ethyl alcchol :5 parts butyl alcohol l5 p"rts methyl-isobutyl ketone 5 parts xylol .Water phase- 0.2 part polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate 32.8 parts water T, Prepare the ph ses separately and add the lacquer phase "to the aqueous phase under vigorous agitation to produce a lacquer emulsion suitable for coating leather, stifie'ning cloth, or water-proofing masonry and other porous struc- 5 Example VI good cold check resistance, excellent print resistance, excellent gloss, and outstanding alcohol resistance is the following: I a

parts nitrocellulose RS, /2 second viscosity 1 10 parts maleic modified ester gum, M. P. I140 10 parts phenoxyethyl tall oil ester i i 35 parts toluol 5 parts ethyl alcohol 10 parts butyl acetate 4. 10 parts methyl-isobutyl ketone 10 parts butyl alcohol Example VII A- flexible, water resistant coating for paper may be applied from the following formula:

parts nitrocellulose RS, 5 parts ester gum 3 parts phenoxypropyl laurate 15 parts ethyl alcohol 15 parts ethyl acetate 47 parts toluol second viscosity Example VIII A metal lacquer of spraying consistence suitable for use on steel as a corrosion resistant coating is:

8 parts nitrocellulose RS, 5-6 seconds viscosity 8 parts coconut oil modified alkyd resin 4 parts phenoxyethyl laurate partstoluol 4 parts ethyl alcohol 20 parts xylol 16 parts methyl ethyl ketone 20 parts butyl acetate ferr ed by single plasticizers.

l'O 'parts nitrocellulose ss, 10 parts alcohol soluble maleic modified ester gum 4 Example IX A high grade wood lacquer for furniture and cabinet work is composed as follows:

A sealing composition for wood or other porous substances, to be used under lacquer or other finish is the following:

/4 second viscosity 5par'tsphenoxyethyl tall oil ester 4-0 parts ethyl alcohol 10 parts ethyl alcohol 10 parts ethyl acetate 5 parts ethoxyehanol' 10 parts toluol Example XI A lacquer formulation producing coatings of good adhesionwhich may be rubbed .to a high gloss is as follows:

. 7.5 parts nitrocellulose RS; 5 seconds viscosity 7.5 parts dewaxed dammar (solids) "2.5 parts phenoxypropyl 15 parts ethyl alcohol j oleate '35parts xylol I I '10 parts ethyl'acetate' 22.5 parts butyl acetate The novel plasticizers herein disclosed produce nitrocellulose, compositions exhibiting in high degree a com- :bination; of advantageous properties not heretofore con- The new, plasticizers contri- 1 buteto excellence in cold check resistance, print resistance,

a adhesiomfiexibility, and -15? v 1 A nitrocellulose lac non-volatility.

Whatisclaimed is: i I t quer, the solids of which consist essentially of one part by weight soluble nitrocellulose v containing from about 10.7%

to about 12.2% nitrogen;

' from. about 0.25 to about 1.0 part of phenoxyethyl tall oil ester as plasticizer; and from 0 to about 5 parts of a modifying resin.

" References Cited in thefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Kramer July 10, 1928 Charch' Nov. 9, 1937 

